ITV 'refusing to pay for costly private therapy for Phillip Schofield's former lover', as This Morning row rumbles on
19 June 2023, 09:01 | Updated: 19 June 2023, 09:02
ITV have been accused of being hypocritical in a row over the former lover of ex-This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield.
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Schofield quit the show last month after it emerged he had lied about a "consensual on-off relationship with a younger male colleague".
The former host was offered an exit package that included a therapy offer.
But when his ex-lover, known only as Person X, asked for the same therapy deal, he was given a more basic offer, which he refused.
A source told the Sun: "ITV appear to be slightly hypocritical in their approach to Phil and the runner, who they now call Person X.
"Phil was told ITV would pay for any therapy.
"But Person X has said that he was only offered ITV’s basic package — which he turned down.
"It seems pretty dismal in light of what has gone on that they wouldn’t offer to pay for a private package."
ITV said: “We are offering duty of care support to both Phillip Schofield and Person X."
Phillip Schofield's relationship 'deeply inappropriate' says ITV boss
It comes after ITV's boss Dame Carolyn McCall told MPs last week that Phillip Schofield's relationship with the runner was "deeply inappropriate" because of the "imbalance of power".
But there had been no evidence of the affair and it was "repeatedly denied by both individuals", she said.
Nobody on the show's team said they had any knowledge of it either.
MPs on the culture committee grilled Dame Carolyn after the fallout from the Schofield saga led to accusations of "toxic" culture at the daytime programme.
She said she looked into rumours of Schofield's relationship in December 2019, and things "got really febrile" after he came out in February 2020.
Dame Carolyn said "people who said they knew would only have heard rumours about it" and had they come forward and said there is evidence "we would have been able to launch a formal investigation".
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Phillip Schofield's relationship 'deeply inappropriate' says ITV boss
She went on: "Because the imbalance of power, the imbalance of dynamics in that relationship, makes it deeply inappropriate, and we have policies that say that very clearly.
"One of the things I hope you'll see as we go through this is that we worked very, very hard for many months until recently to ask people... if they knew something was going on.
"And it was repeatedly denied by both individuals, but also no-one in the team ever said there was anything that they could say.
"In fact, most of them said 'we don't know what's going on'."
Schofield, 61, quit This Morning after a rift emerged with co-host Holly Willoughby.
After an awkward week of presenting it together, he left, then admitted he had lied to her and ITV about his relationship.
He was also dropped by his talent agency YMU as he described the relationship as "unwise but not illegal".
Dr Ranj Singh, who used to regularly appear on This Morning, said there were other issues apart from Schofield and he took his concerns to ITV chiefs.
ITV said an external review did not find any evidence of bullying or discrimination.
But that has not stopped others including Eamonn Holmes, a former co-host on the show, hitting out about alleged problems.
Dame Carolyn, ITV's chief executive, was quizzed alongside Kevin Lygo, the managing director for media and entertainment, and Kyla Mullins, ITV's general counsel and company secretary.
